Zoho Creator Developer Console | Improved Distribution and Lifecycle Management for apps
Hello everyone,
We're excited to introduce new enhancements now in the Zoho Creator Developer Console. These updates strengthen private app distribution through licensing controls and extend environment support across all installed apps, helping teams test changes safely before going live.
What is private sharing?
Private sharing of apps gives you the flexibility to distribute your apps directly to specific clients using their Zoho email address. This is especially useful for developers and Partners who want to deliver tailored solutions to select customers.
Private sharing of apps gives you the flexibility to distribute your apps directly to specific clients using their Zoho email address. This is especially useful for developers and Partners who want to deliver tailored solutions to select customers.
Why this matters
Many of our Partners would like to distribute applications directly to clients and manage payments offline. Until now, Zoho Creator had no in-product mechanism to enforce app validity based on your payment or agreement status with clients. This meant that even if a client stopped renewing their license, the application remained fully functional in their account.
Many of our Partners would like to distribute applications directly to clients and manage payments offline. Until now, Zoho Creator had no in-product mechanism to enforce app validity based on your payment or agreement status with clients. This meant that even if a client stopped renewing their license, the application remained fully functional in their account.
This new enhancement solves that issue by allowing Partners to define a clear validity period. Once expired, the app automatically becomes disabled, and the Partner gains the ability to block access fully. This protects your IP and ensures fair usage of your apps.
Additionally, there was previously no way to share apps for evaluation purposes. With this update, the Trial License feature enables developers to offer a time-bound preview before subscription.
While Developer Console already supported private sharing, we recognized that the existing flow was limited and didn't fully address the diverse requirements of our Partners. That’s why we've rolled out this new update to make the flow more robust and professional.
Here's how the new flow works:
- Evaluation: You can now offer your client a Trial License for your app. Once the client is added and the app is shared with a trial license, they'll receive an installation email. After they install the app using the provided link, it becomes available in their Creator account for the trial period.
- Post-evaluation: If an agreement isn't reached, the application will be disabled after the evaluation period ends. This means the app will switch to read-only mode, where the client would have access to existing data but won't be able to add new entries. At any point after the trial period expired, the developer will have the option to delete the disabled application (along with its data) from the client's account.
- Subscription: Following the evaluation, if the client decides to proceed with a purchase, you can offer them a Subscription License after completing the transaction through your preferred channels. Based on your agreement, the subscription can be granted for as little as one month or set to lifetime validity.
Once the subscription period ends, the application is automatically disabled and moved to read-only mode, allowing clients to view existing data but not perform any actions. If required, developers can further restrict the application, completely blocking client access. If the client and developer agree to extend the subscription, the app can be unblocked and access restored.
These safeguards ensure clients can't continue using your app beyond your agreed terms with the client, giving you complete control, since payments are handled outside Zoho Creator.
To share applications with your clients:
- Navigate to the Clients section. Click the horizontal ellipsis icon next to a client and select Share Application.
- In the popup, you can choose the Application and the version to be shared with the client.
- Next, you can choose from two license types:
Trial License: Provide your client with a trial period to evaluate the app. You can set the duration to 15, 30, or 60 days.
Subscription License: Once you've finalized the subscription terms with your client, you can issue a subscription license. You have the option to set a fixed validity period in months (from 1 to 36) or grant lifetime access to the app.
Consequently, with the introduction of this new flow, we've implemented automated email reminders to keep clients informed about their subscription status and expiry timelines. Developers will be proactively notified about client subscription activity and upcoming license expirations. This ensures both parties stay in sync throughout the subscription lifecycle.
Documentation
To help you better understand these changes, we've provided comprehensive resources to assist you with the private sharing of applications. They can be accessed at the Understanding private distribution of apps help page.
To help you better understand these changes, we've provided comprehensive resources to assist you with the private sharing of applications. They can be accessed at the Understanding private distribution of apps help page.
Environment support for installed apps
Along with the above enhancements, we're also introducing environment support for apps you've distributed. Your clients will now be able to add installed apps to environments and thoroughly test them in the staging environment before publishing them to production. This ensures the changes to apps are validated before they become accessible to end users.
This enhancement removes the earlier limitation that prevented distributed apps from being added to environments. Please note that while your clients can add distributed apps to environments, they will not have access to development. This continues our policy of protecting intellectual property and ensuring that developers remain in control of their apps.
For more information, visit the Installing and managing distributed apps help doc.
Timeline
These enhancements have already been rolled out and are now accessible to users in all DCs.
These enhancements have already been rolled out and are now accessible to users in all DCs.
We believe this new enhancement to the private sharing feature will provide you with greater control and flexibility when distributing your Zoho Creator applications. We hope you love it!
We'll be back soon with more exciting updates, so stay tuned.
Regards,
The Zoho Creator Team
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Ashwin Vishal R
Sticky Posts
Introducing Zoho Creator's 2025 Release Projection 2
Hello Creators! I'm Prakash, from the Creator product management team, and today I'm delighted to unveil our next set of features as part of Release Projection 2 for 2025. With thoughtful analysis and planning, we've curated powerful new capabilitiesZoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 1
Hello everyone! A very Happy New Year to you and your family. Hope you're all good and having a great time using Zoho Creator to make your lives easier and your businesses prosper. 2022 was an action-packed year for us at Creator, and we hope to continueZoho Creator User Group meetups in a city near you! - Oct - Nov, 2023
Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! We're hosting a series of Zoho Creator meetups in various cities across the globe, and we'd love to meet you there! Our meetups are a great opportunity to network with industry peers, exchange ideas and best practices,Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 2
Hello everyone! Time truly flies when you're having an incredible journey, and today we mark the completion of an eventful and action-packed six months. It feels like just yesterday when we embarked on this adventure together with the launch of our newUpcoming Updates - August 2022
Hi all, Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! Today we've got news for you on some exciting updates. And rest assured— there’s more to come! In this post, we'll be going over the upcoming features and improvements for this month as mentioned below. A
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Exciting Updates to the Kiosk Studio Feature in Zoho CRM!
Hello Everyone, We are here again with a series of new enhancements to Kiosk Studio, designed to elevate your experience and bring even greater efficiency to your business processes. These updates build upon our ongoing commitment to making Kiosk a powerfulReply to Email for SO/PO
Hello, We are new to Zoho Books and running into an issue. Our support@ email is our integration user. When our team is sending out PO/SO's we are updating the sender email, but for some reason many of our responses are coming back to our support@ emailNew activity options for workflows
Greetings, We are excited to announce the addition of two new dynamic actions to our workflow functionality: Create Event and Schedule Call. These actions have been thoughtfully designed to enhance your workflow processes and bring more efficiency toRemove the “One Migration Per User” Limitation in Zoho WorkDrive
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to raise a critical feature request regarding the Google Drive → Zoho WorkDrive migration process. Current Limitation: Zoho WorkDrive currently enforces a hard limitation: A Zoho WorkDriveKaizen #228 - Process Large-Scale Migrated Data Using Catalyst Solutions
Howdy, tech wizards! This week’s Kaizen explores how Catalyst Solutions in the Zoho CRM Developer Hub help import large volumes of data into Zoho CRM while improving data quality and simplifying the migration process. Why Catalyst Solutions? CatalystZoho Expense Import Reports Won't Work Because Default Accounts Already Exist
Im trying to import reports from another Zoho expense account to mine and im getting errors that won't allow the import to happen The account name that you've entered 'Ground Transportation' already exists. Enter another name for the account and try again.zInactive License for free account.
I recently upgraded my Cliq subscription not my team (on the free version), are unable to login to their accounts. The error message received is Inactive License Looks like you have not been covered under the current free plan of users. Please contactMake panel configuration interface wider
Hi there, The same way you changed the custom function editor's interface wider, it would be nice to be able to edit panels in pages using the full width of the screen rather than the currently max-width: 1368px. Is there a reason for having the configuration panel not taking the full width? Its impossible at this width to edit panels that have a lot of elements. Please change it to 100% so we can better edit the layouts. Thanks! B.2026 Product Roadmap and Upcoming Features
This is your guide to what is coming in Zoho Vertical Studio throughout 2026. We’ll update this post throughout the year as items move from development to release, and as and when new initiatives are added. Once a feature is released, it will be reflectedPlease, make writer into a content creation tool
I'm tired of relying on Google Docs. I'm actually considering moving to ClickUp, but if Writer were a good content creation tool instead of just a word processor, I would finally be able to move all my development within the Zoho ecosystem, rather thanSyncing zoho books into zoho crm
I was wondering how I can use zoho books in crm as I have been using them separately and would like to sync the two. Is this possible and if so, how? ThanksRelease Notes | January 2026
We have rolled out a set of powerful new enhancements across Zoho Vertical Studio that bring several long-awaited capabilities to your applications. These updates focus on deeper customization, smarter automation, better reporting, and improved usabilityAnnouncing new features in Trident for Mac (1.34.0)
Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce the latest updates to Trident, which are designed to take workplace communication to the next level. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. Connect with customers using Zoho Voice integration. You can now easilyMassive Zoho Books failure
We have not received any communication or notification from Zoho, but we have detected that Zoho Books is not working for all our users. We cannot access or use Zoho Books. This is critical. We are trying to contact Zoho on the Spain telephone number,The Social Wall: January 2026
Hello everyone, We’re back with the first edition of The Social Wall of 2026. There’s a lot planned for the year ahead, and we’re starting with a few useful features and improvements released in January to help you get started. Create a GBP in SocialHow to block whole domain?
I am getting at least 50-75sometimes over 100 spams emails a day. I see a lot of the spam is coming from .eu domains. I would like to block /reject all email coming for the .eu domain. I do not have any need for email from .EU domains. Why won't the BlackListHow Zoho Contracts Makes Negotiations Clear, Secure, and Transparent
Negotiation is one of the most critical—and often most chaotic—stages of the contract lifecycle. Multiple stakeholders review the same document, propose changes, debate terms, and exchange feedback. Without the right tools, this collaborative processError: Invalid Element tax_override_preference
In both Books and Inventory, we're getting the following error whenever we try to enter any Bill: I think this is a bug. Even cloning an old bill (that obviously was entered just fine), this error occurs.Assign Income to Project Without Invoice
Hello, Fairly new user here so apologies if there is a really obvious solution here that I am just missing... I have hundreds of small deposits into a bank account that I want to assign to a project but do not want to have to create an invoice every timeHow to Print the Data Model Zoho CRM
I have created the data model in Zoho CRM and I want the ability to Print this. How do we do this please? I want the diagram exported to a PDF. There doesnt appear to be an option to do this. Thanks Andrewour customers have difficult to understand the Statements
our costumers have big problems to understand Zohos Statements. we need a text box after the payment number to explain what the payments are for. Is it possible to develop a version of the Statement with that kind of box and if so whu can do itHow to track a list of ALL the items that ONE customer bought?
Hello, I am interested in getting a list of all the items that only ONE of my customers bought, and the invoices are what show up instead. It's very tedious to go through every single invoice when we sell a lot of items to this customer. Surely thereExchange Rate Updates
Hi, It would be great that when you work with multiple currencies, the exchange rate updates automagically every day (as seen on Zoho Books) or at least that when you create/update an opportunity the exchange rate could be manually updated, or maybe both!Locked Out of Super Admin Account
I'm locked out of my Super Admin account and the external e-mail is no longer associated with it. There seems to be a problem during set up, the system ought to ask to assign a new password instead of using Google accounts. Please help me get back access.Emails are going to notification folder and not in inbox
emails are going to notification folder and not into inbox550 5.4.6 Unusual sending activity detected. Please try after sometime
Hi, I am receiving this error message when trying to send my emails. The only reason I can think why this is happening is my previous two emails were bounced back to me due to a non working mailbox error. I have followed the online links for unblockingProjects Home Customization
Hello! We've been in Zoho One since July of last year, and my team has started providing feedback on what they'd like to do. Their latest wish is that they could have more control over the Projects Home content. For example, they want a card that showsIMAP search support
Does Zoho Mail support IMAP search? https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9051.html#name-search-command TEXT <string> Messages that contain the specified string in the header (including MIME header fields) or body of the message. Servers are allowed to implementPerformance is degrading
We have used Mail and Cliq for about three years now. I used to use both on the browser. Both have, over the past 6 months, had a severe degradation in performance. I switched to desktop email, which appeared to improve things somewhat, although initialCannot reorder fields in Page Layout in Expenses and Purchase Requests
It is very inconvenient that the custom fields in Page Layout cannot be re-ordered. The only way is to remove the fields and re-create them; however, it is impractical. This would affect the reports and dashboards we are having. Not able to re-order thebouncing emails
My recurring invoices have bounced backProbable Scam / Phising attempt from email pretending to be Zoho
I think this is a scam email right? It says "zohCworkplace.com". I'm on the Mail Free plan The link in the CTA button seems to go to a redirect. Just wanted to bring it up to the security team.Feature Request: Ability to set Default Custom Filters and apply them via URL/Deluge
I've discovered a significant gap in how Zoho Creator handles Custom Filters for reports, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. This limitation has been raised before and continues to be requested, but remains unresolved. TheEmail Address Search in "To" Field Search is broken, Zoho refuses to fix it
Typing a part of the email address string other than the beginning of the string does NOT work, I kindly urge Zoho to fix this. Let's say you remember writing an email so someone called "smith" from company "corp.com", but can't remember their first name,Emails not being received by @hotmail.com, @outlook.com and a few others
When I try to send emails from zoho mail to people with email addresses ending @outlook.com and @hotmail.com (and a few others), I get a 'delayed' automatic email and then a few hours later, an 'undelivered' automatic email. This has started a few monthsscroll bar for far left of screen
I am unable to even see the scroll bar to the right of "inbox" etc on the left; it is stuck at "streams" and I can't get to inbox or anything else. It would help if it could be made a lighter color as the black or dark grey can't bee seen.OUt of office every friday
Hi, I tryed to configure my out of office, because i'm not working or emailing on fridays. But when i select only friday as unavailable day, the out of office still sets for the whole week. What am I doing wrong?Signature line
How do I set signature line in emailZoho email
I cannot send email to mail.ru【参加無料】東京 Zoho ユーザ交流会 NEXUS ー CRMで始めるマーケティング事例 / AI活用法(Zia Agents)
ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 3月27日(金)に東京、新橋で東京 Zoho ユーザー交流会 NEXUS を開催します！ 昨年度までより、さらにパワーアップして戻ってきました！ ユーザー活用事例は、2人のユーザーさんからお話しいただきます。Zoho サービスの活用の幅を広げたい方や、他のユーザーの利用法を気軽に知りたい方など、多くの方にとって学びのあるセッションになること間違いなしです✨ また今年は、これまで以上に、AI機能にも焦点を当てて行く予定です。 初回として、Zoho社員からZohoNext Page